Harriers Celebrate the Return of the Belfast City Marathon in 2021.
Sunday saw the, much awaited return of the Belfast City Marathon, and North Belfast Harriers were well represented. Gladys Ganiel ran a superb race to win a podium place as the third woman home, with a time of 2:35:43. Congratulations to Gladys for a great result. Among the male runners, performances by Harriers, Mark McAvoy, who was the first finisher from the club, in 27th place, with a time of 2:41:27 and Conal McCambridge, who came in 41st on 2:45:35 are also worthy of praise. Congratulations and well done to both.
Belfast City Marathon, which was last held in May 2019, and was subject to postponements and various date changes, owing to Covid 19, eventually got underway a 9.00 am on Sunday 3 October. Despite, some less than optimal circumstances, in relation to pack collections on Saturday, over 5,700 runners seemed delighted to participate in this iconic event. As always, North Belfast Harriers were represented in the full marathon and relays. The marathon route of 26.2 miles had a start in Prince of Wales Avenue, in the Stormont estate and a finish line in Ormeau Park. The route took runners down the Newtownards Road and through east Belfast before entering Ormeau Park for the first time and onto the city centre, past City Hall and south through the city, before heading west and down the Falls Road. Runners then headed north from the Springfield Road and onto the Shankill Road before climbing towards the Harriers’ home on the Oldpark Road, down the Cliftonville Road and along part of the Waterworks ParkRun course and onto Duncairn Gardens towards the city centre again. A challenging climb up the Ormeau Road and onto the Ravenhill Road, culminated with a finish line in Ormeau Park. The runners were buoyed on by cheering crowds that lined the entire route and created the traditional festive atmosphere, that was not seriously affected by the change from the traditional date in May to October. Well done to all who participated and those who cheered on the runners, especially the home crowd in the Waterworks.
Belfast Marathon Results
|
Position |
Bib |
Name |
Category |
Gun Time |
Chip Time |
|
27 |
4246 |
Mark McAvoy |
MO |
2:41:29 |
2:41:22 |
|
39 |
1321 |
Gladys Ganiel |
F45 |
2:45:05 |
2:45:03 |
|
41 |
3193 |
Conal McCambridge |
MO |
2:45:37 |
2:45:35 |
|
112 |
2566 |
Louise Smith |
F50 |
2:54:45 |
2:54:42 |
|
124 |
1420 |
Arran Rutledge |
M45 |
2:55:40 |
2:55:30 |
|
153 |
2058 |
Tracey Atkinson |
F40 |
2:57:00 |
2:56:54 |
|
455 |
812 |
Ryan Armstrong |
M35 |
3:18:59 |
3:18:28 |
|
540 |
2461 |
Gabriel McAvoy |
M45 |
3:24:10 |
3:23:23 |
|
1397 |
145 |
Joe Gallagher |
M60 |
3:58:49 |
3:58:28 |
|
1470 |
2493 |
Stephen Walker |
M40 |
3:59:58 |
3:59:38 |
|
1570 |
3849 |
Gordon Glenn |
M50 |
4:03:39 |
4:01:31 |
|
1948 |
2117 |
Mark Wilson |
M35 |
4:22:40 |
4:20:59 |
|
2881 |
4607 |
Robbie Speers |
MO |
5:42:50 |
5:39:33 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Belfast Team Relay Results
|
Position |
Bib |
Names |
Category |
Gun Time |
|
138 |
10347 |
Team Name: Man in the Middle
Runners: Karen McClean, Catherine Seawright, Seamus Hannah, Una McConnell, Roisin Fahy |
X |
3:49:38 |
|
252
|
10060
|
Team Name: Diane’s Babes
Runners: Evelyn Palmer, Janine Black, Ann Craven, Lucinda McAvoy, Leah McAvoy, |
F |
3:59:45
|
|
818 |
1081 |
Team Name: Domhnall’s Fam
Runners including: Éadaoin Donaldson, PhilomenaDonaldson, Aidan Donaldson (a Harrier fromyesteryear) |
X |
5:00:55 |
|
819 |
1082 |
Team Name: Domhnall’s Fam
Runners including: Bernadette Duffy, Aoife Duffy
|
X |
5:00:55 |
Harriers Shine on Sunday in the 2021 London Marathon
This year, for the first time ever, the London Marathon and the Belfast Marathon were staged on the same date. Whilst in normal circumstances this may have created a dilemma for those who were lucky enough to gain entry to the London race, and wanted also to run Belfast, it did not deter David Hamilton, Paddy McAuley, Katrina McAuley, Eamon McCambridge, Greg McClure and Ellen Holmes, from North Belfast Harriers. David finished in the superlative time of 2:29:58 coming in 86th overall and 63rd in his category. Very well done David! Eamon, Paddy, Greg, Katrina and Ellen all ran exceptionally well and posted great finish times for their respective categories. With around 50,000 runners participating in various events related to this year’s London Marathon, these results are certainly worthy of note. Well done to everyone.
London Marathon Results
|
Position Overall |
Position Gender |
Position Category |
Category |
Name |
Time |
|
86 |
86 |
63 |
M18-39 |
David Hamilton (Bib:1643) |
2:29:58 |
|
1895 |
1806 |
421 |
M40-44 |
Paddy McAuley |
2:58:30 |
|
8855 |
6914 |
3219 |
M18-39 |
Eamon McCambridge (Bib: 21805)
|
3:45:02 |
|
10021 |
7690 |
208 |
M60-64 |
Greg McClure (Bib: 23620)
|
3:50:18
|
|
10348 |
2432 |
453 |
F40-44 |
Katrina McAuley (Bib: 9561) |
3:51:50 |
|
12877 |
3281 |
171 |
F55-59 |
Ellen Mary Holmes |
4:00:54 |
Mourne Skyline Mountain Trail Race 2 October
Well done to Martsje Hell and Simon Reeve who completed the challenging 35km course over 9 peeks in the Mourne Mountains on Saturday. Martsje was the third female finisher and 12th overall. Simon came in 20th out of a field of over 150 who started the iconic course that involved a climb of 3,370m. Well done to both runners.
| Position | Number | Name | Category | Time |
| 12th | 58 | Martsje Hell | F35 | 4:55:01 |
| 20th | 30 | Simon Reeve | M45 | 5:12:58 |
Harriers Continue to Support and Participate in ParkRun, in the UK, Ireland and Europe
Whilst the focus of many runners was undoubtedly directed toward the marathons in Belfast and London on Sunday, members of the Harriers turned out in numbers on Saturday morning to support their local ParkRuns, and indeed ParkRuns throughout Ireland, London and Toulouse in France, and share in the camaraderie, craic and enjoyment that is at the core of ParkRun.
The following runners are deserving of a special mention: Moira Leheney, First Female Finisher and new PB at Waterworks; Conan McCaughey, First Finisher with new course record at Sligo; John Gerard Murphy, First Finisher at La Ramée, Toulouse, France; and Lynn McKenna, First Female Finisher and new PB at Buncrana. Well done also to Thomas Coy, Cormac Leheny, Martin McLarnon, Cathaoir Purvis, Brandon McMinn and Fergus Jamison who all recorded personal bests in their respective ParkRuns. Greg McClure also deserves a mention for participating in the Hilly Fields, Lewisham ParkRun, before recording a very fast time in the London Marathon the following day. Congratulations to everyone!
 |
Waterworks ParkRun, Belfast
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
4 |
4 |
David Curran |
0:20:06 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
Thomas Simmons |
0:20:07 |
|
|
8 |
8 |
Thomas Coy |
0:21:45 |
New PB |
|
9 |
9 |
Cormac Leheny |
0:21:56 |
New PB |
|
13 |
1 |
Moira Leheney |
0:22:06 |
New PB & 1st Female Finish |
|
18 |
15 |
Gerry Anderson |
0:22:44 |
|
|
21 |
3 |
Ita McCambridge |
0:23:14 |
|
|
22 |
18 |
Paddy McCambridge |
0:23:14 |
|
|
24 |
5 |
Fionnuala O’Hare |
0:23:26 |
|
|
25 |
19 |
Sean McShane |
0:23:39 |
|
|
31 |
23 |
Kevin McCann |
0:24:23 |
|
|
32 |
24 |
David Hurst |
0:24:36 |
|
|
50 |
41 |
Jack Carberry |
0:25:45 |
|
|
56 |
47 |
Orán Steel |
0:26:09 |
|
|
59 |
50 |
Lyle Carleton |
0:26:16 |
|
|
65 |
55 |
Matt Shields |
0:26:58 |
|
|
70 |
9 |
Stella Harrison |
0:27:28 |
|
|
112 |
31 |
Sandy Carr |
0:31:14 |
|
|
113 |
32 |
Grainne Stephens |
0:31:15 |
|
|
116 |
34 |
Lorna McGrath |
0:31:39 |
|
|
122 |
38 |
Margaret Stephens |
0:32:32 |
|
|
127 |
81 |
Martin McLarnon |
0:33:01 |
New PB |
|
128 |
82 |
Roy Rainey |
0:33:05 |
|
|
152 |
91 |
Denis Loughran |
0:40:48 |
|
|
153 |
53 |
Bertha McWhinney |
0:40:52 |
|
|
160 |
57 |
Bernadette Duffy |
0:43:20 |
|
|
161 |
58 |
Philomena Donaldson |
0:43:20 |
|
|
164 |
61 |
Rosy Ryan |
0:58:50 |
|
Belfast Victoria ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
4 |
2 |
Cathaoir Purvis |
0:15:25 |
New PB |
|
54 |
40 |
Colin Simpson |
0:24:57 |
|
|
56 |
42 |
Matthew Carleton |
0:25:04 |
|
|
77 |
58 |
Joe Wilson |
0:27:03 |
|
Queen’s ParkRun, Belfast
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
41 |
32 |
Vincent Bradley |
0:27:36 |
|
|
67 |
41 |
John Lavery |
0:31:01 |
|
Falls ParkRun, Belfast
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
45 |
28 |
Jim Clinton |
0:31:47 |
|
Wallace ParkRun, Lisburn
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
17 |
16 |
John McConnell |
0:23:52 |
|
Hilly Fields ParkRun, Lewisham, London
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
175 |
113 |
Greg McClure |
0:32:29 |
|
Enniskillen ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
35 |
25 |
Jason Reid |
0:26:54 |
First Timer |
Ormeau ParkRun, Belfast
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
65 |
51 |
Stephen Walker |
0:23:55 |
|
|
149 |
107 |
Thomas McKinstry |
0:27:21 |
|
Antrim ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
22 |
19 |
Brian Stewart |
0:21:49 |
|
Larne ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
9 |
9 |
James Topping |
0:26:06 |
|
Fulham Palace ParkRun, London
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
244 |
145 |
Tony Reid |
0:27:04 |
|
Valley ParkRun, Newtownabbey
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
2 |
2 |
Brandon McMinn |
0:19:00 |
New PB |
Sligo ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
1 |
1 |
Conan McCaughey |
0:15:12 |
First Timer & New CourseRecord |
Parkrun de la Ramée, Toulouse, France
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
1 |
1 |
John Gerard Murphy |
0:20:58 |
First Timer & First Finisher |
Buncrana ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
15 |
1 |
Lynn McKenna |
0:26:19 |
New PB & 1st Female Finisher |
Orangefield ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
55 |
39 |
Fergus Jamison |
0:29:28 |
New PB |
Knockbracken Resevoir ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
31 |
28 |
Paul Jenkins |
0:25:42 |
First Timer |
Hillsborough Forest ParkRun
|
Position |
Gender Position |
Name |
Time |
Remarks |
|
73 |
39 |
Paul Lavery |
0:35:48 |
First Timer |
